The emperor rarely paid attention to these flowers and plants, but today, for the first time ever, he asked, "Are there any tuberoses planted in the palace?"

Tuberose? Eunuch Fu racked his brains. "Your Majesty, this flower is not common, but it must exist. There are no less than a hundred kinds of flowers in our palace. I will go and ask the Shanglinyuan Supervisor where the tuberose is planted."

The imperial carriage walked around the palace for a long time and encountered several concubines who came to pay their respects, which ruined Xuan Ling's interest in enjoying the scenery.

"Go back."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

In the Yangxin Palace, Xuan Ling lay quietly on the dragon couch, while Court Judge Wu was giving him acupuncture.

Outside the palace, the flower slaves from Shanglin Garden brought in a large pot of tuberoses in full bloom. The lingering rich fragrance drifted into the emperor's nostrils, and his brain gradually relaxed.

A scene emerged in my mind of a beautiful woman shedding tears, her red tears spilling down her skirt, she looked delicate and tender, and so pitiful.

He had never known before that someone's crying could be so touching.

He slept for a long time, and even when Judge Wu took out the golden needle, he failed to wake the emperor.

Xuan Ling didn't wake up until dark. The air was filled with the fragrance of tuberose. He stood up and saw a pot of flowers at the door of the hall.

"Your Majesty, I have asked the Supervisor of the Shanglin Garden. Although the tuberose is fragrant, it is not suitable for display in the palace. The fragrance of this flower can cause dizziness and other adverse reactions to those who smell it. Therefore, it is best placed outdoors for viewing."

Xuan Ling stood up, stretched his muscles, got off the dragon bed, and walked towards the tuberose at the door. "That's why I said this is a dangerous flower."

He stroked the soft petals with his long fingers for a long time and said, "Move it outside the palace."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Eunuch Fu said, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has just sent someone to invite Your Majesty to dinner."

Xuan Ling glanced at the sky and said, "Go to Cining Palace."

After one stick of incense, we arrived at the Cining Palace.

Xuan Ling entered the palace. Besides the Empress Dowager, there was also Consort Liang. She quickly bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, I greet you. May your Majesty be blessed with good health."

Concubine Liang was the niece of the Empress Dowager and the daughter of Prime Minister Feng.

The Empress Dowager was elegant and graceful, wearing an orange-brown robe with a crane and phoenix pattern. She said with a smile, "The Emperor is here, so it's a good opportunity for us to have dinner together."

Xuan Ling and the Empress Dowager sat at each end of the golden nanmu table, while Concubine Liang stood beside them, serving the dishes.

"Your Majesty, please try the cherry meat. Your aunt specially ordered it to be prepared for you."

He carefully scooped a piece with a jade spoon and placed it in the white glazed bowl in front of Xuan Ling.

The Empress Dowager said, "The Emperor has become thinner recently. He is busy with state affairs, so he needs to balance work and rest. He should visit the harem more often and let the concubines serve him wholeheartedly."

Xuan Ling said, "Cherry flesh is good, and my mother also uses it."

After a moment, the Empress Dowager lamented, "The Emperor ascended the throne at twelve, married at eighteen, and now, at twenty-four, has only two children, Le Wen and Yu Mo. This is truly too few. It's time to add new women to the harem so that the Emperor can relax and have more children when he's not busy with state affairs."

Concubine Liang listened carefully. The Empress Dowager had tried her best to make Concubine Liang the Empress, but Xuan Ling was afraid that the Empress Dowager would have too many relatives by marriage, so she did not agree.

Until later he chose the gentle Queen Duan.

Missing the throne of queen was a sad thing for Concubine Liang. Whenever she thought about it, she became so angry that she almost died of depression.

Xuan Ling put down his jade robe and said sternly, "Mother, I like all the concubines in the harem. The Queen is pregnant, so there is no need to add anyone else."

The Empress Dowager said earnestly, "Emperor, you are busy with state affairs and rarely visit the harem, but you must not forget the ancestral teachings of the importance of safeguarding the country and continuing the lineage. This time, I have a good candidate. You met that person at the Spring Banquet."

She winked at Concubine Liang and whispered, "Aunt, you are talking about Sister Yunluan, right? She is indeed very beautiful and talented."

Xuan Ling felt a small rage ignite in his heart. He stood up and said, "Let me think about this matter. Mother, I have some things to take care of, so I'll be leaving first."

He strode out of the Cining Palace at a brisk pace, and the aura above the imperial carriage became increasingly difficult to dissipate.

The concubines in the harem all have a force behind them.

When the previous emperor passed away, Xuan Ling was only twelve years old, leaving behind several regents, including Prime Minister Feng, Marshal Duan, Shen Zhongshu, and General Liu.

Empress Duan was the daughter of General Duan, Concubine Liang was the daughter of Prime Minister Feng, Concubine De was the daughter of General Liu, and the daughter of Shen Zhongshu was Zhaoyi, who died half a year ago.

The Empress Dowager's brother on her maiden side was Prime Minister Feng, who was sent in as Consort Liang a few years ago. The Su Yunluan she mentioned today was from the Duke's Mansion, and was the daughter of the Empress Dowager's sister.

There are three thousand beauties in the harem, and each of them tries every means to gain favor in order to climb up and gain more wealth and glory for themselves and their families.

Xuan Ling thought about what Sheng Xiyan said. Indeed, no woman had ever said that she would not be loyal to him for wealth and honor. All he had heard were flattering words of favor.

The Shufei in the harem comes from the Prince of E's Mansion. Her family is not in the political center. She was promoted by Xuan Ling to check and balance the harem and was treated as a favorite concubine.

I originally wanted to use Qi Yan, the newcomer, to check and balance the old ministers, and at the same time let Concubine Shu take advantage of the situation to check and balance other forces in the harem.

However, without the talented Qi Yan in the Prince of E's Mansion, the role of Concubine Shu in the emperor's heart became questionable.

In addition, although Shufei was smart and obedient, her personality was not what he wanted, so Emperor Xuanwu came up with the idea of ​​training a new person.

There seems to be a suitable woman to cultivate now.

On the imperial carriage, the emperor's eyes were far-reaching, and he was deep in thought. Eunuch Fu boldly asked, "Your Majesty, are you returning to the Yangxin Palace now, or to another palace?"

"Go to Jingren Palace."

After a while, an announcement was made at the gate of Jingren Palace: "The Emperor has arrived!"

Inside the palace, Queen Duan and Princess Lewen hurried out of the main palace door to welcome the emperor.

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